Non-recycled
municipal waste
UP-2
Urban
Environmental Problems
Pressure
1 Indicator
definition and unit of measurement
The
% of municipal waste produced that are not recycled municipal waste include
waste originating from household, commercial activities, office buildings, and
institutions, and from business that dispose of waste at the same facilities
used for municipally collected waste. Municipal waste are classified according
to the following main categories: paper, paperboard and paper products;
plastics; glass; metals; food waste, garden waste and similar materials; other
similar waste.
2 Placement
in the framework
5EAP:
Chapter
5: The themes and targets of the programme, section 5.7: Waste management,
establishes objectives for municipal waste prevention, maximal recycling and
reuse of materials and safe disposal of any waste, which cannot be recycled or
reused, in following ranking order: combustion as fuel, incineration, and
landfill.
Agenda
21:
Chapter
21: Environmentally-sound management of solid wastes and sewage-related issues.
International
conventions and agreements:
European
Parliament and Council directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.
Ranking:
Core
ranking:
2
(62%)
Policy
Relevance:
4
(3.2)
Analytical
Soundness:
1
(3.1)
Responsiveness:
2
(2.9)
Most
appropriate related state indicator:
Contamination
of soil and ground water.
3 Significance
Purpose:
The
% municipal waste produced that are not recycled reflects the pressure of
consumption patterns and the level of awareness of the urban population. The
purpose of this indicator is to monitor the pressure of municipal waste
production on the environment.
Relevance:
An
increase in the percentage of waste that are not recycled places significant
impacts on the environment in terms of consumption of resources and
contamination of soils, water and atmosphere. It has direct and indirect
effects on human health. Its environmental impacts are influenced by the type
of waste produced and management methods.
Linkages
to other pressure indicators:
The
% of municipal waste that is not recycled is linked to other pressure
indicators including
WA-4:
Municipal Waste,
WA-6:
Waste recycled,
WA-1:Waste
landfilled,
WA- 2:
Waste incinerated,
CC-2:
CH
4
emissions,
and other emission indicators.
Targets:
The
5EAP calls for a stabilisation of municipal waste generated in Member States
by the year 2000 to quantities not exceeding 300 kg/capita/year (1985 level)
and for the safe disposal of any waste which cannot be recycled or reused in
the following ranking order: combustion as fuel, incineration, landfill. Some
national targets aim to stabilise solid waste production in Austria to 1993
levels and to recycle respectively 50% and 60% in Denmark and the Netherlands.
4 Methodological
description and underlying definitions
Underlying
definitions and concepts:
The
% of municipal waste produced that is not recycled is directly related to
production and consumption patterns in urban areas. It reflects particularly
recycling practices in municipalities.
Measurement
methods:
Statistics
on municipal waste are typically obtained from survey or administrative returns
from waste collection, transport and treatment operations. These sources can be
supplemented by special studies for particular type o waste. Both waste
generated and the non-recycled fraction can also be estimated based on urban
activities and waste management.
Limitations
of the indicator:
Problems
related to data quality of waste statistics and variations in definitions of
municipal waste across countries. Difficulty to distinguish between urban and
non-urban areas due to different definitions.
Alternative
definitions:
Municipal
waste production per capita and household waste production per capita are
alternative definitions.
